Slotted block wall construction with interfitted wire tie



March 1967 E. T. FITZGERALD SLOTTED BLOCK WALL CONSTRUCTION WITHINTERFITTED WIRE TIE Filed Sept. 13, 1965 FIG! INVENTOR.

EDWARDT FITZGERALD wry ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3399,836Patented Mar. 21, 1967 assasso SLO'ITED BLOCK WALL CONSTRUCTION WITHTERFITTED WIRE TIE Edward T. Fitzgerald, 4 Stevens Place, Melrose, Mass.02177; Isabel Fitzgerald, administratrix of said Edward T. Fitzgerald,deceased Filed Sept. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 308,869 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-513)This invention relates to wall construction and more particularlycomprises an improved means for tying a brick or tile facing to a cementor cinder block wall and an improved method of mortar-lug the end jointsof a cement or cinder block wall.

This invention is equally applicable to walls made of either cement orcinder blocks with either brick or tile facing, and in the followingdescription wherever cement blocks and bricks are mentioned, it is to beunderstood that the alternate materials may be substituted.

It is customary in the construction of cement block walls with brickfacing to secure ties in the bed joints of the cement blocks, whichextend forwardly to anchor in the mortar of the brick facing. At thepresent time a number of different types of ties are available, but allbasically have the same failings; namely, none are really suited to beadjusted to compensate for differences in elevation between the bedjoints of the cement blocks and the bricks of the facing. Certain of theties now used are made of thin galvanized sheet metal which may be bentwhen the bed joints of the wall and facing are not in horizontalalignment, but when the ties are bent the galvanized coating isfractured and the ties in time deteriorate. 7

One important object of this "invention is to eliminate the need forbending ties or breaking the facing bricks or tiles to facilitate thealignment of the ties with the joints in the facing of a Wall.

Another important object of this invention is to modify theconfiguration of cement blocks to allow the ties anchored to the blocksto be adjusted vertically without bending them.

Still another important object of this invention is to provide a cementblock which by its very shape accomplishes the foregoing objects andwhich may be fabricated at no additional cost.

To accomplish the recited and other objects this invention includesamong its features the provision of vertical slots in the outer verticalpanels of a cement block wall, which slots communicate with the cells ofselected ones of the blocks. Ties are positioned in those slots and areanchored in the cells so that they may be raised and lowered as desiredwithin fixed limits before the slots are filled with mortar so that theties may be aligned with the bed joints in the brick facing. In oneembodiment of this invention the slots are in communication with theopen or end cells of the blocks, and the slot margins are beveled orchamfered so that they may be filled with mortar. When the slotscommunicate with the end cells they are coincident with the end joints,and when those joints are provided with chamfered sides, a bricklayermay mortar all the end joints at once after constructing the wall bymortaring only the bed joints.

These and other objects and features of this invention along with itsincident advantages will be better understood and appreciated from thefollowing detailed description of several embodiments thereof, selectedfor purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top view partly in section of a wall constructedin accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary front view of the end joint between a pair ofadjacent'cement blocks shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of aportion of the wall shown inFIG. 1

FIG; 4 is a plan view of a cement block comprising a second embodimentof this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front. view of a block shown in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 1 a portion of a wall is shown that includes cement blocks 10,12 andv 14, bricks 1'6, 18 and 20, ties 22 and 24, and'mortar 26. Eachcement block has a front vertical panel 28, a rear vertical panel 30 andfour parallel vertical webs 32, 34, 36 and 38 that together define interior closed cells 40, 42 and 44, and open end cells 46 and 48. It willbe noted in FIG. 1 that the open cells 46 and 48 are approximately halfthe width of the interior cells 40, 42 and 44, and each end cellcooperates with the end cell of the adjacent block to form a closed cellwhen the adjacent blocks are secured together by mortar. The basicoverall shape of the blocks 10, 12 and 14 (which are identical) isconventional, except for the slots which communicate with certain of thecells.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, specially formed slots arecoincident with the end joints 5!) between adjacent blocks in the samecourse. The slots which form the vertical joints are defined by theadjacent edges 52 of adjacent vertical front and rear panels 28 and Stl.Each edge 52 is shown in FIGS. 1-3 to be chamfered or beveled inwardlyof its outer and inner corners 54 and 56 to provide a gradually wideningjoint from the inner surface 58 to the outer surface 60 of the panels 28and 30. Thus the edges 52 include angularly disposed walls 64 whosesides terminate a distance from the corners 54 and 56 so as to leave thewall segments 66 and 68 perpendicular to the surfaces 58 and 60 of thepanel. As is evident in FIG. 2, the beveled margins of each end joint 50extend throughout the full height of the blocks, and in FIG. 1 each ofthe four joints shown in the block wall section are pro.- vided with thesame chamfered sides. This arrangement has two particular advantages.First, without regard to the manner in which the facing is secured tothe cement block wall, the shape of the end joints 50 is such that themortar may easily be trowelled into the joints after the adjacent blocksare set in place. As a result a brick layer can most conveniently buildan entire wall of cement blocks by assembling the blocks in place andmortaring only the bed joints of each course of blocks. The bed jointswill maintain the integrity of the wall, and after the entire assemblingis completed and the bed joints are set, the bricklayer can return andin a single continuous operation mortar all the end joints. It will berecognized that this is different from the conventional practice ofmortaring the bed and end joints of each block as each is singly laid inplace.

The second advantage of the configuration shown in FIGS. l3 is that theend joints may conveniently be used as the anchor for the ties 22. Thetie 22 shown in detail in FIG. 3 is made of a relatively heavycopperized steel wire or rod approximately /8 to A in diameter, In FIG.3 the tie 22 is shown tobe made of a single length of wire twistedtogether at a portion approximately of the way in from its ends so as toform two arms 70 and a head 72. The head 72 and the arms 7 0 lie in acommon plane shown disposed horizontally in FIGS. 1 and 3. The head 72of the tie 22 is elongated in a horizontal direction, and the neck 74 ofthe tie lies Within the joint or slot 50. The arms 70 extend beyond thefront face 60 of the panels 28 and as is evident in FIG. 1, extend anappreciable distance into the vertical plane of the bricks 16, 18 and20.

The head 72 of the tie in the position shown in FIGS 1 and 3, isretained within the cell defined by the end cells 46 and 48. Because thehead 72 is elongated in only one direction, it is evident that the tierna-p readily be mounted on the block wall by aligning the head 72 withthe joint or slot 50, inserting the head through the slot, and turningthe tie so that the head extends across the slot or joint in a generallyhorizontal plane. Once inserted in the slot the tie may be raised orlowered to any horizontal position with respect to the course of theblocks to which it is connected, and it may therefore be readily alignedwith the bed of any course of bricks to be secured as a facing to thewall.

The wall shown in FIG. 1 may be assembled in the following manner.First, the wall of cement blocks may be assembled by mortaring only thebed joints. If a tie is used in every second course of blocks and in thecourses used are spaced the width of a single block apart (ordinarily16"), thus lying in every end joint of those courses, the end joints ofthe intermediate rows of blocks may also be mortared at the same time asor in a group after the bed joints are mortared. The facing of the wallis then commenced, and the facing wall if mad-e of brick may be eitherspaced from the forward surface 60 of the panels 28 of the blocks adistance sufiicient to leave an air space for insulation, oralternatively, the facing bricks may be mortared approximately 1" fromthe surface 60 and the gap between the surface 60 and the rear face ofthe bricks may be filled with mortar. The bricklayer will build thefacing wall in the conventional manner until the top of a course ofbricks lies intermediate the top and bottom of the course of blocks towhich the ties are to be anchored. At that stage the bricklayer insertsthe ties by aligning the heads 72 with the joints or slots 50 which havenot been mortared to insert the heads into the cells. The ties are thenturned so that the arms lie in a horizontal plane and lie on top of theupper course of bricks, and the heads 72 thus traverse the slots orjoints so that they cannot be pulled through them. The bricklayer thentrowels the mortar into the slots or joints 50 so that the ties are heldin place and the joints are closed. Because the slots are chamfered theymay readily be filled with mortar with the aid of a trowel, Thebricklayer may then form the bed joint for the next course of bricks,and the arms 70 with their outwardly extending flanges 76 are imbeddedin the mortar forming the bed joint. Additional courses of bricks arelaid until the upper surface of the facing thus far assembled is alignedwith a plane intermediate the top and bottom of the next course ofblocks in which ties are to be anchored. It will of course beappreciated that if none of the end joints of the cement block wall havebeen filled prior to the commencement of the laying of the facingbricks, the intermediate rows of end joints will be mortared as they arereached by the courses of brick.

The configuration of the slots or joints 50, referring particularly tothe narrow wall sections 66 and 68, contribute to an improved block aswell as a neater and structurally superior joint. First, the straightwall sections 66 prevent the mortar at the joint from thinning down toan extremely shallow layer at the edges, which would have little or nostructural integrity and which would quickly chip or otherwisedeterioriate leaving an unsightly seam. The unsightliness would beparticularly undesirable if no facing was to be used. The walls 68eliminates thin marginal edges which would make the blocks particularlyfragile at the edges. Accordingly, the angularly disposed wall 64 doesnot extend throughout the full thickness of the panels 28 and 30.

While in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the slots are formed in the end orvertical joints 50 and the ties are anchored in the end open cells ofthe respective blocks, in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and the slotscommunicate with an interior cell. Thus, in FIG. 4 the block 80 includesa front panel 82 and a rear panel 84 joined together by four verticalwebs 86 that together define with the panels interior cells 90, 92 and94 and open end cells 96. A slot 98 is formed in the panel 82 andcommunicates with the middle cell 92, and the slot is of the sameconfiguration as the joint or slot 50 in the previous embodiment. Thus,the slot 93 has angularly disposed walls 190 and narrow wall sections102 and 104. The width and inclination of the walls 160, are the same asthose of walls 64, but the slot as shown in FIG. 5 may extend only halfthe height of the panel 82. While it is shown in that figure to extendupwardly from the lower surface 106, it could with equal facility extenddownwardly from the top surface 108. The height of the slot isdetermined by two primary considerations; first because while the cementblock may be approximately 8" in height, (a conventional dimension), thebrick may be only half the height of the block or less, and secondly, aslot extending the full height of the block would appreciably weaken itbecause it would reduce its cross-sectional dimension effectively to thecross section of only one panel.

It will be appreciated that if the slot 98 is only 4" high, it isnevertheless adequate in size to assure that the ties can be alignedwith substantially any bed joint in the facing material, Thus the slots98 give enough freedom of adjustment to the ties in them so that theymay be properly aligned to anchor the facing material to the wall. Inthe embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, the slot 98 is described ascommunicating with an interior cell and it may of course communicatewith any one of the interior cells. It will be noted that the ends ofthe front and rear panels 82 and 84 are provided with conventionallyshaped square edges. This showing is not intended to preclude the use ofchamfered edges at the ends of the panels when a tie slot is providedwhich communicates with an interior cell. That is, should it prove moredesirable to use an interior cell for the anchor of the ties, the endjoints may nevertheless be provided with the chamfered edges as shown inFIGS. 1-3.

If the wall is to be made of cement blocks of the configuration shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the blocks may be assembled in the conventional manner,and when the facing is applied the ties 22 may be inserted through theslots 98 and turned, and thereafter may be adjusted vertically to alignthemselves with the bed joints in which they are to be anchored. When sopositioned the slots 98 may be filled with mortar and thereafter thejoints of the facing may be mortared with the arms of the ties in place.In the foregoing description, two embodiments of this invention havebeen described in detail. It will be appreciated from the descriptionpresented that adjustability is afforded the ties without adding to thecost of molding the blocks and without incorporating into the blocksexpensive metal fittings etc., as has been suggested in certain of theprior art. Because the foregoing description will however suggestcertain modifications of the illustrated embodiments, which do notdepart from the spirit of this invention, it is not intended to limitthe scope of this invention to those embodiments illustrated anddescribed. Rather, it is intended that the breadth of this invention bedetermined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is: 1. A wall construction comprising a plurality ofcourses of hollow blocks, said blocks in each course defining a row ofvertically extending cells and a continuous front panel,

spaced vertically extending slots provided in the front panel andcommunicating with an inner surface of each of selected cells, saidslots each comprising a first pair of opposed walls meeting said frontpanel at opposed corners and extending rearwardly therefrom to a secondpair of opposed walls extending further into said block toward saidinner surface and meeting a third pair of facing walls which extend tosaid inner surface,

ties each having a head and a pair of arms integral with the head andtwisted together within the slots, said arms having portions lyingoutside the outer surface of the panel with portions of said head andsaid arms of each tie in each slot contacting said inner surface andsaid second pair of opposed walls, respectively,

5 6 and a facing covering the outer panels of the block 2,007,130 7/1935Munroe et al 52-144 X courses and anchored to the blocks by the ties.2,309,420 1/ 1943 Taylor 52714 X 2. A wall construction in accordancewith claim 1 2,933,146 4/1960 Zaldastani et a1. 52-405 X wherein saidfirst pair of opposed walls are parallel and 2,954,838 10/1960Nuorivaara 52144 X said third pair of facing Walls are parallel to eachother. 5 FOREIGN PATENTS References Cited by the Examiner 548,589 11/1957 Canada.

257,351 8/1926 Great Britain. UNITED STATES PATENTS 330,391 7/1958Switzerland. 822,510 6/1906 Davidson 52-375 9 0 8/19 Raster 52-5 10FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. 1,304,219 5/1919 Thompson 52--379 X 15 077 5/1926 Lona 52 372 A. C. PERHAM, Assistant Examiner.

1. A WALL CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF COURSES OF HOLLOWBLOCKS, SAID BLOCKS IN EACH COURSE DEFINING A ROW OF VERTICALLYEXTENDING CELLS AND A CONTINUOUS FRONT PANEL, SPACED VERTICALLYEXTENDING SLOTS PROVIDED IN THE FRONT PANEL AND COMMUNICATING WITH ANINNER SURFACE OF EACH OF SELECTED CELLS, SAID SLOTS EACH COMPRISING AFIRST PAIR OF OPPOSED WALLS MEETING SAID FRONT PANEL AT OPPOSED CORNERSAND EXTENDING REARWARDLY THEREFROM TO A SECOND PAIR OF OPPOSED WALLSEXTENDING FURTHER INTO SAID BLOCK TOWARD SAID INNER SURFACE AND MEETINGA THIRD PAIR OF FACING WALLS WHICH EXTEND TO SAID INNER SURFACE, TIESEACH HAVING A HEAD AND A PAIR OF ARMS INTEGRAL WITH THE HEAD AND TWISTEDTOGETHER WITHIN THE SLOTS, SAID ARMS HAVING PORTIONS LYING OUTSIDE THEOUTER SURFACE OF THE PANEL WITH PORTIONS OF SAID HEAD AND SAID ARMS OFEACH TIE IN EACH SLOT CONTACTING SAID INNER SURFACE AND SAID SECOND PAIROF OPPOSED WALLS, RESPECTIVELY, AND A FACING COVERING THE OUTER PANELSOF THE BLOCK COURSES AND ANCHORED TO THE BLOCKS BY THE TIES.